


Orbit

by Klitch



Category: K (Anime)
Genre: Alternate Universe, M/M, Rare Pairings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-02-06
Updated: 2018-02-06
Packaged: 2019-03-14 18:53:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13596252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Klitch/pseuds/Klitch
Summary: This is the way the world ends...a crumbling blue Sword of Damocles, and Totsuka Tatara’s King standing beneath it.





	Orbit

**Author's Note:**

> For K rarepair week 2018, please enjoy the angst.

_This is the way the world ends._

_There was a Sword hanging in the sky, translucent blue, cracks and sharp corners, debris raining down. Crumbling like a sand castle, shadow stretched out to cover the man standing directly below._

Reisi.

_The Blue King raised his head, and Totsuka Tatara met that gaze with his own._

_One step forward, then two. Hands shaking on a sword that he had never drawn, not really, not in combat – that sword, named after a star hidden from view in the glow of another, that only called for help when drawn because he couldn't fight, he was weak and everyone knew it – but he drew the sword, because the King was looking at him. This was the task, then. The reason he'd been by that man's side all this time._

_Rain was falling, and stained Totsuka's blue uniform dark as he took another step towards his King, and the world was already fading to dust around them._

_Two steps, to a crumbling Sword. The King standing alone, waiting._

_This is the way the world ends._

_Totsuka's face ached and he thought he might be smiling, desperately._

Everything will turn out all right, don't you think?

_The grip of his sword felt clammy, slipping under his fingers, and he stepped beneath the shadow of the sword._

–

The first time Totsuka Tatara met Munakata Reisi it was while sitting on a bench in a park at night, and a child in glasses walked up to him and asked where his parents were.

“Who knows?” Totsuka shrugged and smiled, because he didn't know the answer himself. It was like a game, really – hide and seek, even though he hadn't hidden and no one was seeking him. That was all right, though. It was all going to work out fine, the way it always did. He had picked up dead leaves in three different colors and made two flower crowns, which he had never done before, and he was renaming all the constellations in the sky.

“It is against the law for children to be out this late unaccompanied.” As if the person in front of him was much older than Totsuka himself. 

_Well, in age maybe._ Totsuka swung his legs on the bench as he mentally corrected himself. The child in front of him couldn't be more than a few years older than Totsuka in body but something about his bearing reminded Totsuka of the time he'd been dropped off at a senior citizens' home for three hours, when he'd sat at the side of someone who wasn't his grandfather but smelled like cinnamon and played a game of shogi without an opponent. This was certainly that kind of person as well, who would play a game against himself and still focus on finding a winning strategy.

“You're unaccompanied.” Totsuka put one of the flower crowns on his head, just because.

“My parents will be here shortly. It seems I spent too long gathering beetles and lost track of the time. However, I have contacted them and am waiting for their arrival.” He spoke like an old man too, formal. Totsuka cocked his head.

“I like catching beetles.” He'd caught a bunch of bugs once, using a dead bird as bait. No beetles though, and he'd had to reconsider his choices. “Isn't it bad weather for beetles in the winter?”

“So I have found.” The boy laughed and pushed up his glasses with one finger, in a manner almost calculated, and it made Totsuka laugh too. “I have a theory however, that there are insects which can only be found during times of frost.”

“Huh, really?” Totsuka pulled in his knees so he could lean his arms on them. The sky had gotten darker, but there was moonlight reflecting on this boy's glasses. “Hey, show me?”

He'd meant it just in fun. There wasn't much else to do, and Totsuka always liked to try new things.

But the boy's answering smile was confident and bright and young like it should be, and there was stardust in his hair and for just a moment Totsuka thought--

_Just like a King._

He put the other flower crown on the boy's head, and the boy held out a hand.

“Certainly. As long as we remain in the area so our parents can find us.”

“Right, right.” Totsuka waved a hand airily. “Parents. Ah, my name's Totsuka Tatara, by the way.” 

Totsuka reached down, took the boy's hand, and was helped off the bench. The boy pushed up his glasses with his free hand again, looking dignified and ridiculous with the flower crown still on his head, and there was a sudden dazzling brilliance in his smile that made Totsuka's heart beat as fast as if he'd been running all day.

“Good evening, Totsuka-kun. My name is Munakata Reisi.”

_King._

–

“That was cruel, wasn't it, Reisi?” Totsuka leaned against the classroom doorway as Reisi approached with slow steps. He looked up as Totsuka spoke, posture regal and straight-backed, a student's uniform like a king's cloak around him, and Totsuka waited for the reply.

Reisi always had the _most_ interesting replies, and Totsuka's grin widened in anticipation.

“Oya? I would disagree with such an assessment. I simply offered a few pertinent suggestions.” Munakata Reisi smiled, a bright ray from the sun, and Totsuka soaked in sunshine.

“I think the poor man was going to cry.” Totsuka glanced back towards the classroom, hands clasped behind his back and keeping pace as Reisi walked away. There was no need for Reisi to ask him to follow. Totsuka always did that on his own, ever since he'd been adopted into the Munakata family.

He'd kept his own name because 'Munakata' had never sounded right attached to his given name and besides, it belonged to those other people who called themselves his new parents. They were nice enough – simple and unremarkable, but giving and free with affection. His oldest brother Taishi too, was a big-hearted person who lavished attention on his younger brothers. Whenever someone told Totsuka that he was lucky to have been adopted by such good people he would smile and nod and agree.

But really, it was all the same to him, one family or another. That house was nice, and those people in it, but they didn't really hold his interest and if they went away one day, well, it would all turn out all right either way.

Reisi, though, Reisi was _different._

“Is that so?” Reisi's voice was amused, the edge of a laugh, and his bearing regal and proud. Totsuka took a half step closer to him, waiting for the rest. “That is unfortunate. One should always be open to self improvement, even if it is from a student to a teacher.”

“Well, that's a point, but I don't think that person will see it that way,” Totsuka said with a shrug. “Any way you look at it, it's a student criticizing his teacher's methods as if he knew better, isn't it?”

“I believe he was pleased that a student would consider such things,” Reisi said. “There is much that could be refined in his methods. I simply wished to impart some wisdom.”

“Reisi's wisdom tends to lead to that teacher having a stomachache and going easy on lessons for a few days, doesn't it?” Totsuka said thoughtfully. “Hey, Reisi, my math class has an exam coming up so please offer suggestions to my teacher too.”

“I'm afraid I may only offer suggestions when I have properly observed the style of teaching,” Reisi said. “However if you believe there is truly room for improvement I will do my best.”

“Maybe another day.” Totsuka waved a hand. “If too many teachers go cry at once it might seem like bullying.”

“Perhaps.” Reisi laughed and Totsuka inclined his head closer to his companion (not 'brother,' not this person, Reisi had always been something beyond that from the very start).

Reisi was always different, and despite himself Totsuka wanted to see where this man would go.

–

_King._

The moment Reisi stepped off the plane Totsuka felt the word echoing in his mind.

He knew something was different. He'd been unable to accompany Reisi overseas – Reisi had gotten a scholarship that covered his transportation to the United States but their parents couldn't afford to send Totsuka simply because he wanted to be with his “brother,” and besides those people had never understood that Totsuka's attraction had always been more than simple affection from a younger brother to an older one. So he'd been forced to remain behind, sailing through school and jumping from hobby to hobby, unattached to anything and anyone, waiting for the day Reisi returned home and things would finally get interesting again.

When the plane touched down though, Totsuka knew a wheel had finally begun to turn again

There had always been that regal bearing to Reisi's walk, always been that grace to his movements, but there was something deeper in it now – _supernatural,_ he might have said, something that couldn't be touched or seen but which Totsuka was certain was nonetheless the aura of a King.

There was a young woman walking a step behind him, her face furrowed in half-confusion, talking to Reisi in low tones. He smiled at her brilliantly and for a moment Totsuka felt something like irritation, before Reisi turned to face him.

Reisi's eyes were fathomless and bright, his gait full of nothing but confidence, and he nodded briefly at the woman before stepping forward to meet Totsuka.

“Totsuka-kun.” Reisi held out a hand. “Will you follow me?”

There was no reason why, as if there were no need for explanations, no need to tell why he would ask this so suddenly out of the blue.

Even so, Totsuka raised his hand without hesitation.

“I will. King.”

Reisi laughed then, and Totsuka felt something stirring deep in his soul.

“Please, continue to call me 'Reisi.'”

–

“An unreasonable man.”

Those were the first words Munakata spoke to him, regarding the matter of Suoh Mikoto.

“Is that so? Your eyes were shining, Reisi.” Totsuka said the words easily, half a laugh, but his eyes were searching and he wondered if Reisi would recognize the look in them.

“I believe you are mistaken.” Reisi adjusted his glasses, gaze on the paperwork before him, and Totsuka idly sifted through his own papers. “I have no interest in such a person.”

“Awashima-san said you were acting unlike yourself.” The surprise in her voice had been clear as she'd described it, Reisi slamming a fist into the wall, the only time she had ever seen him angry.

(Totsuka couldn't recall ever seeing Reisi angry, and the dark grasping part of him was irritated that he hadn't seen it this time, that there was a side of Reisi he had never gotten to witness, and that Suoh Mikoto had been the one to bring it out.)

“A momentary misstep. It is difficult to reason with a man who knows nothing but power.” Reisi shook his head. “We must not give in to the manners of such a person. The Red King would stand against the justice and order that is the duty of Scepter 4 to uphold. I will not allow him to run wild as he wishes.”

“King really hates to lose, huh?” Totsuka applauded idly. “You're all fired up, Reisi.”

Reisi laughed softly, as if blowing such concerns away, but the look on his eyes was far away and Totsuka felt an odd wrenching in his chest.

“Perhaps that is so.” Reisi adjusted his glasses again. “In any case, Totsuka-kun, do you have an update for me?”

“Right. Everyone was very forthcoming this time.” Totsuka smiled brightly as he handed over the paperwork. As a man who couldn't wield power on anything more than the smallest of scales, information gathering was his forte instead. He'd already heard whispers in the ranks, men wondering who this person was so close to their King, who never drew his sword and held no rank. Totsuka didn't mind such things, of course. Awashima-san was Reisi's right hand and Totsuka was his assistant in the shadows, and that was enough for him.

“The Red King...” Reisi's voice was low as he looked over something else in the reports, and Totsuka didn't allow the shadow covering his heart to show in his face.

( _“Kings are only attracted to other Kings,”_ Awashima would say later, and Totsuka thought perhaps he truly was a weak jealous thing after all.)

–

Totsuka stepped to the side as a young man walked out of Reisi's office, muttering to himself. Totsuka offered him a friendly smile – not that he expected Fushimi-kun to return it, of course, because even in the short time Fushimi had been with Scepter 4 he hadn't smiled at a single person. Even so, Reisi thought Fushimi was an interesting person and so Totsuka did as well, curious as to who this child was that had so captured Reisi's attention.

“Fushimi-kun seemed agitated.” Totsuka didn't bother knocking as he stepped into Reisi's office. Reisi looked up from the puzzle he had laid out on his desk, glasses shining. “Were you bullying him again, Reisi?”

“I am unaware of your meaning.” Reisi steepled his fingers as he looked at Totsuka and there was something in that gaze that made Totsuka want to remain still, to drink in that moment – here where he was the only thing in the line of his King's gaze, this reminder that regardless of Fushimi Saruhiko or the Red King it was still Totsuka who remained at his King's side, always.

“You shouldn't tease him, Reisi.” Totsuka set his papers down on the floor and settled himself against the edge of the desk, looking down at the puzzle. “You can't keep him in a box like the beetles, you know.”

“I would not intend to. He would be of no use in that case.” Reisi laughed, shaking his head. “Fushimi-kun is an interesting person, is he not?”

“Oh, very.” Totsuka picked up a piece and carefully laid it down in a likely spot. “It's rare for you to go after a person like that yourself. And to take him from the Red clan, too. Awashima-san tells me Kusanagi-san is upset that you cheated.”

“It is no cheat, to offer a wayward child another path home.” Reisi easily moved the piece away to a more correct spot. “I believe Fushimi-kun is fitting in well here.”

“Hmm, do you think? He seems a little lonely.” Totsuka smiled brightly. “Maybe you need to bond with him some more, King.”

“That is a splendid suggestion as well.” Reisi's tone suggested that he wasn't quite teasing, and Totsuka almost felt a bit sorry for Fushimi.

“Don't scare him away too much, Reisi.” Totsuka reached for another puzzle piece and his eyes caught sight of one of the papers still sitting on the desk. “Oh? Fushimi-kun named his saber after all, huh?”

“It has been given a name.” Reisi placed another puzzle piece into its proper spot. 

“'Subaru.'” Totsuka read the word out loud, and his eyes strayed to the sword at Reisi's waist. “That was nice of you to name it for him, Reisi.”

“Merely a thought.” Reisi smiled to himself, and Totsuka leaned a little closer to him.

“King puts a lot of consideration into these kinds of things,” Totsuka mused. “Hey, Reisi, did you know Gotou-kun from squad D named his 'Pochi?'” Totsuka laughed a little at the thought.

“I have heard. If that is the name he feels will suit his weapon best, I have no objection. By giving his sword such a name perhaps he hopes it will be a loyal companion, and will treat it as such.”

“And 'Subaru?' Pleiades, right? You've always liked stars, hmm?” Totsuka murmured.

“A cluster of stars. The meaning is up to Fushimi-kun of course. But I do hope he takes it to heart.” Reisi placed another piece. “You have yet to name your own saber, Totsuka-kun.”

Totsuka's hand did not even go to the hilt of the sword at his side, as he imagined the hand of one of the swordsman troops would have. He had been given the sword merely as a precaution and as a way of transferring power, nothing else – Totsuka's Blue power was too weak to channel through the sword anyway, and so instead his drawing was less a declaration of battle than a cry for help. If that sword was ever drawn it would send a distress beacon to Scepter 4 headquarters, requesting backup. He had yet to draw it even once, and often forgot it was there.

“Maybe my sword is too weak for a name.” Totsuka laughed easily, as if it was nothing. “A tracking bug on my PDA would work just the same, you know.”

“There is a reason that sword is at your side,” Reisi said simply, putting another piece of his puzzle into place, and Totsuka thought he would never get tired of the soft click as a new piece of the world was set into the right spot. “A name is important for such a companion.”

“Hmm...maybe I'm waiting for you to name it?” Totsuka feigned a pout. “You named Fushimi-kun's, but not mine?”

“Is that so?” Reisi chuckled, but there was something sharp in his eyes, the mind that never stopped thinking, and Totsuka couldn't help but meet that gaze with his own though he would have simply ducked his head and smiled at anyone else. “Tell me, Totsuka-kun...why do you truly believe I gave you that sword?”

“Hmm...so everyone would match?” Totsuka smiled sheepishly, rubbing the back of his head. “I'm a weak person who really can't wield a sword at all, so it's not fair to try sparring with me without warning, Reisi.”

Reisi gave him another fathomless look, the kind even Totsuka couldn't read, before touching a hand to the hilt of Totsuka's sword.

“Gaia.”

“Hmm?” Totsuka cocked his head.

“It will be a good name.” Reisi had already turned his attention back to his puzzle, and Totsuka simply shrugged and perched himself closer on the desk, watching his King create the world from a thousand shattered pieces.

Later he looked it up online, the name Reisi had chosen.

_“Gaia I. A new cluster, high mass and bright but undetected until recently due to being hidden in the glare of the brightest star in the sky, Sirius.”_

Totsuka laughed softly to himself and wondered how long Reisi had been waiting for him to ask for a name for his sword, the same as with Fushimi. Well, it was a good name either way. 

He had always been there just behind Reisi's shine. It was the only place he could be, to see more of that shine than anyone else.

–

Totsuka took his time as he walked through the near-empty hallways of Scepter 4, unhurried. Most of the force was busy outside and Reisi was doubtless occupied as well, so there was no rush.

Kusuhara-kun's funeral was today, after all. It was unfortunate.

He'd stayed around for just a bit, helping to ease everyone's spirits. He'd even let Hidaka cry on his shoulder, though Hidaka had needed to bend down a bit for it. But that was another of Totsuka's jobs, being the mood-maker of the clan in times of trouble.

Part of him hadn't felt bad though, even with it being a funeral. Kusuhara had caught Reisi's eye, another 'King's favorite,' and even Totsuka hadn't been sure what was so interesting about that kid. It wasn't like Fushimi, who Totsuka had already found to be endlessly entertaining to the point he fully understood his King's interest. But Kusuhara had been pleasant and a bit cute, and apparently very attached to Zenjoh-san.

_Zenjoh Gouki..._ Totsuka shuffled the papers in his hands. He recalled Reisi's decision to bring that man into Scepter 4 regardless of that person's own wishes. The man who had killed the previous Blue King Habari Jin with his own sword. A man like a demon, or so Totsuka had heard. He'd seen Zenjoh a few times, working in the records department, and had tried to start up conversation more than once. 

He'd been rebuffed every time. Totsuka wasn't sure if he was simply disliked due to his proximity to Reisi, or if there was another reason. It wasn't as if that was something Totsuka could easily understand, the type of man who could put his hands around the hilt of a blade and slice through the neck of the man he'd chosen to serve, and still continue as if there were other things in the world worth his interest.

_Ah._ The door to Reisi's office slammed open and that very person walked out, Zenjoh Gouki with fists clenched and face twisted into a grimace. He stopped for just a moment upon seeing Totsuka and Totsuka smiled and waved.

Something odd flashed through Zenjoh's eyes for a moment – disgust maybe, or pity, and Totsuka stared back at him in confusion.

“I'm the last person you want to see today, huh?” Totsuka murmured, putting his smile back into place, and Zenjoh simply walked past him without a word.

Totsuka stared after him before making his way through the open door into Reisi's office. Reisi was staring out the window, hands behind his back.

“Zenjoh-san really doesn't like me, does he?” Totsuka said airily. Reisi didn't turn and Totsuka's brow furrowed slightly. “Reisi?”

“Perhaps that is so.” Reisi turned to look at him then and there was something strangely regretful in his gaze – and somehow, Totsuka felt almost as if it wasn't directed at that funeral outside, that it wasn't intended for Kusuhara Takeru at all.

“Reisi...?” Totsuka took a step forward and Reisi shook his head, returning to his desk.

“It is nothing to be concerned over. Were you able to get the intelligence we needed?”

“Everyone was so talkative.” Totsuka smiled and let himself forget it, the pity in Zenjoh's eyes and the regret in Reisi's, and moved to stand by Reisi's side as always.

It wouldn't disappear entirely from his mind though – those regretful eyes, and Zenjoh Gouki who had killed his King with his own two hands.

–

“Had a good talk, Reisi?” There was a soft snow falling, and Totsuka sat up as Reisi stepped back into the van.

Kusanagi Izumo was dead, killed by a single bullet and a rogue King. Suoh Mikoto's Sword was crumbling by bits and pieces, and the jail cell at Scepter 4 that had held him was nothing but rubble.

Reisi still smelled like cigarette smoke – not his own brand, the smell Totsuka would recognize even though Reisi so rarely smoked, and even so he kept smiling.

“That man is always unreasonable.” Reisi's tone was regal but there was slight clenching to his hands, a tightening around his eyes, that made Totsuka's smile all the more brittle to match it.

“So no peace treaty?” Totsuka mused. He was the only one who had been made aware of exactly where their King was going on a dark snowy night when they were supposed to be maintaining position at the mouth of the bridge that led to the school island, where the Red King and the Red clan waited.

Reisi didn't reply, leaning against the door of the van and staring up at the snow. Totsuka stood and walked over to hover at his side, feeling as if even so Reisi was too far away for his hands to reach.

“What are you going to do, Reisi?” Totsuka spoke the words quietly into the air, where they turned into a soft wisp of white cloud and blew away.

“We will advance with sword in hand, for our cause is pure.” Reisi idly put a finger to his mouth, as if he could still taste the cigarette that had been there – but Reisi did nothing idly, even the smallest of movements, and everything inside Totsuka felt tightly wound like a rusting spring.

“Is that so?” Totsuka murmured. “You were going to stop him, weren't you?”

“As is the duty of the Blue King.”

“And as Munakata Reisi? What is your duty?” 

Reisi turned to look at him, not replying, and even so Totsuka knew that Reisi wasn't looking at him at all. 

–

The soft ticking of the clock on the wall was the only sound in the room as Totsuka stepped inside Reisi's office. The lights were off but Reisi was still there, sitting at his desk, Tenrou laid out there before him.

The Red King's blood was still drying on the blade, and Totsuka smiled. He was nothing but a twisted mess inside, ugly enough that Reisi had to already know the truth, but right here, right now, he could do nothing more than smile.

“It's late, Reisi.”

“Oya?” Reisi looked up at him, a thin flat smile on his face, politeness and etiquette more than emotion – Totsuka had been born faking smiles and he could spot his own kind even here, in the dark. “My apologies, Totsuka-kun. You need not wait up for me.”

“It's too quiet around by myself.” Totsuka huffed, gesturing widely because it might be enough to make Reisi laugh. It didn't, not this time, not this night, but he played the role anyway the best he knew how. “You haven't made a move yet.”

He gestured to the chess set still sitting out next to Reisi's desk. Chess had been a hobby months ago, but Reisi enjoyed it so Totsuka clung to bits of knowledge for his sake. They would play games that lasted weeks, a move here and there – Totsuka played aimlessly, never remembering his last move by the time he made his next one, but Reisi always knew exactly the flow of the game no matter how much time had passed.

“It seems I have been remiss. Tomorrow I shall continue our game.” Reisi's eyes were on the sword again and Totsuka felt his chest burn and his breath catch, but he kept smiling. That was the trick, the best move he knew how to play – keep smiling, and everything will be fine.

“I've been getting into cooking lately. Did you know potatoes can go into almost anything?” He said whatever words came to mind, because it was dark and there was blood on Reisi's sword.

“Is that so? How fascinating.” Reisi's words were polite and curious, but there was no brightness in his eyes.

_“Kings are only attracted to other Kings.”_

Somewhere Homra was dark and fragmented, falling to bits with the loss of their King. Somewhere Suoh Mikoto's body lay in the snow, and his blood had all but dried on Reisi's sword.

“I'm going to bed.” Totsuka half-turned, and waited.

“It is good for you to get proper rest.” Reisi responded as Totsuka had expected, not as he'd hoped, and it felt as if something he'd thought he would finally manage to grasp was still slipping through his fingers.

“Then good night, King.”

Totsuka turned and walked away, letting the door close behind him. He leaned backwards slightly, head tilted back, and breathed in the night air.

Tomorrow, maybe he'd ask Reisi to start the chess game over again.

–

“Captain's Weismann level is...”

He heard the words clearly, standing just outside the office door. Awashima and Fushimi were inside, busy as always, a rustling of paper and the familiar click of Fushimi's tongue having caught Totsuka's attention. He'd been about to step inside when he heard Awashima's voice, hushed with concern.

Fushimi clicked his tongue again, said something in a voice too low for Totsuka to hear, and Totsuka turned and walked the other way down the hall.

He knew, of course. _Reisi_ knew, and so Totsuka did as well. The fate that befell Suoh Mikoto, Kagutsu Genji. The fate that surely befell nearly all Kings, eventually.

The Blue Sword of Damocles had cracked. It was only a matter of time now.

It wasn't as if he was afraid. Everything would be fine, after all. It was Reisi. Reisi, who had held his interest from the very start, who had always been meant to be his King. The one thing that Totsuka had decided to see through to the end, and not let go of.

He thought of Zenjoh Gouki's gaze full of pity, of Reisi's blood-stained sword and the chess game that still wasn't complete.

“Everything will turn out all right, don't you think?” Hollow words, a bandage over a crumbling sword, but Totsuka smiled and continued onward anyway. There wasn't much else a weak person like him could do.

Nothing but grasp at what he had always grasped at, and Totsuka kept walking.

–

_“Totsuka-kun.”_

_Reisi's voice was calm, waiting. As if he'd expected this outcome all along._

_Intended it._

_Reisi had a contingency, for everything. Only now, with the sword in his grip and his King in front of him, did Totsuka find himself wondering if this was what he had been all along. A contingency._

_It didn't matter. Reisi's plans were beyond his mind, and that had never mattered. A King who only saw other Kings, who was looking at him with expectation in his eyes._

_“Reisi.” It was the space of a heartbeat, his feet moving over the ground and the Sword above Reisi's head crumbling inch by inch, and Totsuka's sword flashed silver in the dim light of the pouring rain._

_A breath, inhaled, and Totsuka smiled again as he let the sword fall from his hands._

_Reisi's eyes widened – heartbeat, heartbeat, Totsuka could count them in his mind, just a moment between when the sword left his grip and the soft clang of metal on pavement as it hit the ground, and an expression he'd never seen before on Reisi's face, the look of a person whose perfect plan had somehow gone awry._

_It was so rare, that he could catch Reisi off guard like this, and Totsuka laughed as he crossed the space between them in one more step._

_It was the first and last opportunity, after all, and in the space of a breath Totsuka pressed his lips over Reisi's – brief, the first and final, and he breathed out his apologies for Reisi's ears alone._

_“Sorry, King.”_

_Reisi's eyes were wide and deep, the whole of the universe, and Totsuka felt the ground shaking around them, a Sword falling faster and faster as he wrapped his arms around Reisi's shoulder and kissed him again as everything faded into white._

_This is the way the world ends._


End file.
